So I just deejayed at a Company Xmas event and this time I want to talk a little about it. First of all it went very well and since this is the 2nd time they have booked me they loved me and want me again for a 3rd time next year. This does not happen just because I’m lucky, it happens because I am prepared and very have done my homework.

Let’s talk about preparation for an event like this. My client sent me an email with music she wants for dinner and dance. I reply with “ok I will definitely have that music and more with similar taste” of course not in that manner but similarly put together. My research is vast, I start to dig into the crates I already have and start adding more. One way I have managed to get similar sounds is by using Pandora or Spotify to check related artist to the artist they already have. Using services like Spotify also let’s me listen to the song before I commit to purchasing it, this is very helpful because in the past I’ve always purchased lots of music in a wholesale manner. The downside with buying soo much music is that you then have to sort and go through all of the music which can take weeks or months even! Now that I have music, it’s time to organize and categorize!

Categorizing music is a hell of a thing to do but you have to do it to be organized! I have my stuff organized by Genres such as Urban, Spanish, Holidays, Etc. Then I start adding subcrates winch genres under that parent genre. I have recently started working on doing custom set crates which I have never really done since I’m the type of DJ that likes to mix on the fly, hence the name “Dj Live”. I do believe that curating special sets help me establish a more unique sound and cater to a more refined mix overall for the audience. After all prep is done you obviously want to go over all the equipment you have and do a double check on wires, hard drives, back-ups, make sure controller is working right, double check ETA for the venue, what’s the earliest I can get there, etc.

Now it’s time for the day of the gig. One day prior to the day of the party I always make sure all my clothes is ironed or pressed (whichever is needed) and I make sure I have my setup clothes ready as well. The day of the gig is usually blocked out completely from my schedule as I like to dedicate the whole day to make sure I have everything ready. For this gig I had to start at 6pm so I knew I would like to be there at least 2.5 hrs earlier and getting to this place from my house was going to take about 30 mins. One thing to note is that you must always account for anything that can happen such as traffic, accidents, etc. I left the house around 2:15pm and got there with enough time so that I can start as early as 5:30pm. This is how it goes when I get there, I park right outside on the curb where they have unloading parking and I greet the employees inside and ask to speak to the person in charge of the place so I can see where to setup. I get the location and then ask for a 6ft table since that’s what I usually need from the venue. I then start unloading and setting up.

My setup is done and now I’m ready to work! I’m not scheduled to start until 6pm but I start to see people show up around 5:45pm so I start playing some soft background music which is some Christmas music. I’m constantly checking to make sure the sound is not overpowering people conversations and you can do this by watching body gestures. If you see people leaning into each other to hear what their saying you can tell it’s too loud and if they seem to be talking just fine then you know you’re in the sweet spot! I also like to walk around to double check the sound is nice and clear; also not too loud. So people are greeting each other and they get to their tables to start getting ready for dinner.

Dinner is starting and at this moment I’m still monitoring the levels and making sure it’s not too loud. This gig was only 4 hours but I did a lot to prepare for this client, it’s just the way I like to be with everything. It’s already 8:30pm and my client approaches me to get the mic and start speaking to the guest. He is then done with the speech and turns the attention to me and I let the people know that I’m ready to play some good dance music so everybody enjoy themselves and so on. I start with some dance tunes and read the crowd to see what they like. This crowd was mainly top 40 stuff and some oldies but goodies that are dance able. Overall the event went very well and I was pleased with the compliments of the guest, at every moment of the day you must always be kind and always be aware of the client and how they are reacting to your music. Sometimes you don’t have to wait to see if they like it, you just need to pay attention to your reactions and body language.

I hope this helped for something! Please feel free to contact me on all social media if you have any questions. Thank You